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After nearly 20 years spent languishing in obscurity, a classic Portland artwork is set to return to the public eye. “The Continuity of Life Forms” — a huge midcentury-modern mosaic by renowned Portland architect and artist Willard Martin — was reinstalled at the Oregon Zoo last month at a site near the old zoo entrance, where the iconic piece stood for more than 50 years. “This is a way of preserving the legacy of a local hero in addition to preserving part of the zoo’s history,” says Brent Shelby, one of the zoo’s project managers. “There will be a lot of nostalgia for those who visited the zoo prior to the late 1990s.” Originally installed at the entrance when the zoo moved to its current location in 1959, the striking mosaic greeted visitors for 40 years, becoming part of the zoo’s public face and lore. But in 1997, the zoo’s main entrance was moved 200 yards uphill when TriMet opened its West Side light-rail line, which included a stop at the zoo. The mosaic remained in its familiar …